The Moon, the Sun, and the Star
by cats of golden moons
Summary: Three kits are born-to a mother who won't say who the father is. One clan learns the parentage-and prepares for a capture that, if successful, could destroy the clans-for these kits hold the future of the clans in their paws.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

Prologue

The light brown tabby lept over a fallen tree stump, rushing to meet the one who must know the names of the kits. _He must be the only one,_ she thought to herself, _the only one who knows who they are._ Her quick-witted mind felt as if she was forgetting something, something important. _Oh yes,_ she thought, _I must tell a tom. A tom to pretend to be the father of these kits. How about....... yes, he should do. I'll tell him when I get back. _The cat raced on, on, to the ShadowClan border. Over tree roots and across a stream, she raced on.

He was there, at the border, standing, waiting. "How many?" "Three," she whispered.

"Their names?"

"I'm thinking of Moonkit, Sunkit, and Starkit."

"Good names," he replied. "I'll see you at the next Gathering. Let's meet over by the old pine on the island."

She looked at him, wondering why their love was forbidden. Some had broken that part of the warrior code before — Graystripe and Silverstream, Bluestar and Oakheart, and Leafpool and Crowfeather, to name a few. Their kits had not always been prosecuted, their love not always broken. Leafpool — a medicine cat — had broken the code even more by even having kits, as medicine cats were prohibited from having kits by the code.

"Until the Gathering, then," she purred, and then they both turned in unison and loped away from each other. Her feet pounded silently over the ground. _I must get back to ThunderClan before they notice I'm missing,_ she thought. _They will never know. Not the kits, nor the warriors, or the medicine cat. Not the elders, nor the leader, or the apprentices._

_Our kits will never know,_ she thought as she ran. _They will never know who their father is. They will never have the pain of being prosecuted for their parents, never will they be scorned for being half-clan. They must never know that they are half-clan, or that their blood comes from both ThunderClan and ShadowClan. They will never know._

But someone would know. Several, in fact. A whole clan would keep the secret of Moonkit, Sunkit, and Starkit's parentage................until the kits were old enough for the warriors to strike. A RiverClan apprentice ran out of the bushes and back to his clan, a terrible plan already forming in his evil mind.


	2. Chapter 2: Apprentices

Sunkit yawned and sat up. He looked down at his sisters — Moonkit and Starkit. He gave a loud fake cough, and then started growling increasingly loudly. When this failed to make a reaction, he yowled, "Wake up!" as loud as he could.

Moonkit stirred. "Is it morning already?" she yawned. Starkit, always the quiet one, sighed and turned over.

"Yes, Moonkit, it is morning, and Sunkit, you need to be quiet while cats are sleeping," their mother, Ivycloud, yawned.

"I want to go outside!" Sunkit yowled. "We're old enough to be apprentices now, so I might hear something about the ceremony!"

"Oh, I hope I get to be a medicine cat apprentice," Starkit purred. "I'd love that." Their current medicine cat, Dawnflame, had no apprentice...............yet. She had been showing interest in taking on an apprentice, and Starkit seemed the most likely candidate. She had always loved hanging around the medicine cat's den, asking which herb does what. She also seemed to have a special connection with StarClan. When she was a young kit, she had dreamed of cats with stars in their fur coming and visiting her in her sleep.

"Come on!" Sunkit yowled. "Coming, coming," Moonkit mumbled. "I don't see why you always have to be in such a hurry!"

"It's what makes a good warrior! Eaglefeather told me so," he retorted. "Anyway, come on!"

The three kits tumbled outside. They wandered around pestering the warriors about who their mentors would be. They pestered the apprentices about what it would be like to be an apprentice. When the dawn patrol finally returned, they ate (it took an eternity for them to eat — at least the kits thought so). Then, the deputy, Bearclaw, had to make his report to the leader, Miststar (that took another eternity and a half — to the kits). Finally Miststar leapt up onto the Highledge.

Miststar yowled the traditional call. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather here beneath the Highledge. It is time for three of our kits to become apprentices." A surge of excitement swept through Sunkit. Beside him, Moonkit quivered with excitement. Starkit, always calm, looked up at Miststar quietly, waiting for what might come.

"Sunkit!" Miststar called. Sunkit bounced up to stand in front of the Highledge. On the way there, he almost crashed into Branchpaw. The apprentice groaned in exasperation (this had happened before) and moved out of Sunkit's way.

"From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Sunpaw." called Miststar. The whole clan chanted his name. "Sunpaw, Sunpaw, Sunpaw!" Ivycloud looked on with pride as her only son became an apprentice.

"Eaglefeather!" The tabby warrior stepped forward. Miststar looked down at him from the Highledge. "You were Cherryleaf's mentor, and she is a credit to her clan. Now I ask you to prove your skills once again. You will be Sunpaw's mentor." Eaglefeather walked over to Sunpaw and they touched muzzles, and then stepped back into the crowd of cats.

"Moonkit!" Obviously trying to be more dignified than her brother, Moonkit stepped forward and looked up at Miststar.

"From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Moonpaw." Miststar looked down at her kindly as she said these words. "Moonpaw, Moonpaw, Moonpaw!" chanted the clan.

"I have decided to take a second apprentice. Moonpaw, I will be your mentor." Miststar jumped down from the Highledge to touch muzzles with Moonpaw. Then, Miststar leapt back up onto the Highledge and Moonpaw stepped back into the clan.

"Starkit!" The little kit picked her way delicately up to stand in front of Miststar. "From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Starpaw." Moonpaw and Sunpaw led the chant this time. "Starpaw, Starpaw, Starpaw!"

Although she appeared as serene as ever, inside, Starkit was trembling with excitement. _Oh please please please please let her call........................_ "Dawnflame!"

Miststar gazed down at her medicine cat. "Dawnflame, you have decided that you are ready to take on an apprentice. Starpaw is ready to become a medicine cat apprentice. May StarClan give your apprentice all the strength and wisdom she needs." They touched muzzles and stepped back into the crowd of cats.

"I am sure that ThunderClan will benefit from these apprentices in days to come. This Clan meeting is over."


	3. Chapter 3: Fishtooth

Starpaw sat at the front of the cave, sorting herbs. One of the younger kits, Cliffkit, had come down with a slight cold. From the way he acted, though, you'd never guess that he was sick. He had bounded into the medicine den and knocked herbs everywhere. Now Starpaw had been charged with picking up the mess.

"Hey, Starpaw," Dawnflame meowed as she walked into the cave, "Will you go down to the lake shore and gather any herbs you find down there? We're low on pretty much everything."

"Okay. I'm almost done." Starpaw answered as she picked up the herbs she had finished sorting. She laid them in their proper places and skidded out the den door. _Free!_ she thought to herself. _I'm finally free!_

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Sunpaw walked across the sun-baked earth with the last load of moss in his mouth. He was changing out the elder's bedding. It was the apprentice task he hated most, although it was fun to listen to the elders, (Lakepine, Grayrock and Cloudcrag) gossip about which apprentice would listen to their endless stories, which warrior was in trouble with Miststar, ect., ect., ect.

"Sunpaw!" Eaglefeather walked up behind him. "When you finish with the bedding, would you go and hunt? The pile is getting empty."

"Sure," Sunpaw replied, "I'm almost done." He walked into the elder's den and laid the bedding in the piles he had already made. He said a quick good-bye to the elders and raced out the den door. _Finally!_ he thought to himself. _I can finally go free!_

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Moonpaw jumped high into the air and landed lightly on the ground. She pretended to swipe an imaginary enemy's side and then rolled under the 'RiverClan warrior'. Her 'enemy' was RiverClan because they had recently tried to make all the clans throw out the half-clan cats. There had been a large battle, ending with only RiverClan throwing out warriors. The cats had been taken in by various other clans.

"Moonpaw!" Miststar called. "That was very good. I think you're done for today. Could you go look for Sunpaw? I think Eaglefeather sent him down to hunt by the lake. If you could go hunt with him for a while, that would be great."

"Yay! I'm done, so I'll go now!" She leapt out the training hollow door and trotted across the packed earth of the camp. She headed into the forest and thought to herself, _Yes! I can finally go free! _

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The excited apprentices did not know how short their freedom would be. In the forest, a dozen or more RiverClan warriors lay in wait. Fishtooth, excited that he had been included in the war party, realized that without him, there would be no war party.

For it was he who had seen the exchange between Ivycloud and her ShadowClan mate, back when he was an apprentice. It had been he who had told his leader, the power-hungry Clawstar, about the kits. He didn't know one important piece of information, though, because he had never guessed that there might be a prophecy. He didn't believe in StarClan, so he never would have guessed.

It was he, Fishtooth, a new RiverClan warrior, whose actions might destroy the clans, and all they had worked for.


	4. Chapter 4: The Coming Battle

"WindClan is attacking!" yowled Mosspaw as she ran into camp. She was a young cat who had become apprenticed only a moon ago.

"What in StarClan's name is going on?" asked Miststar, jumping down from the Highledge. "WindClan? I thought we were friendly with them. What happened?"

"We were friendly, until they started to invade our territory!" Mosspaw called. All the cats started yowling insults about WindClan all at once, until Miststar said "Quiet! Let Mosspaw talk!"

Her eyes wide in terror, Mosspaw announced "The border patrol caught them hunting and marking the border inside our territory! They've just taken a huge chunk of ThunderClan territory and claimed it as their own. They claim that RiverClan has taken much of their territory, but why would RiverClan do that? WindClan has no half-clan cats, as far as we know."

Ivycloud's eyes widened. _But we do,_ she thought. _We have half-clan cats. Could RiverClan know about my kits? Could they know about Moonpaw, Sunpaw, and Starpaw? _

Miststar's voice jolted her out of her revelation. "Ivycloud, Eaglefeather, Bearclaw, Raindapple, Minnowfur, Oakstream, Cherryleaf, Elmleaf, Rockpelt, Owlpaw, Mosspaw, Birdpaw, Emberpaw, Larkpaw, Moonpaw, and Sunpaw, come with me. The rest of you, defend the camp at all costs. Dawnflame, Starpaw, be ready to treat injuries."

"Um, Miststar?" Eaglefeather raised a paw. "I sent Sunpaw to hunt, and you sent Moonpaw out too."

"And I sent Starpaw for herbs," added Dawnflame. "She should be back soon, though."

"Okay. When Moonpaw and Sunpaw get back, send them straight to the WindClan border. I'll take Fernpaw and Maplepaw instead."

The sixteen cats ran to her and they raced out the camp tunnel, ready to fight. Lakepine, the youngest elder, watched them go. She worried — Miststar had left only two warriors, three queens (two with nursing kits), one apprentice, and the elders at the camp. Little did she know how much danger all the clans were in at that very moment.

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In the forest, the three apprentices stood. They had met each other only moments before, and were wondering what to do when they heard a rustling in the bushes. The ones who held the fate of the clans in their paws stood oblivious as Fishtooth, in the bushes, prepared to spring.


	5. Chapter 5: Capture

Starpaw heard a rustling in the bushes. "What's that?" she asked her brother and sister, who were standing beside her. Moonpaw looked worried. "I don't know, Starpaw."

Sunpaw looked anxiously over to where the WindClan border lay. "And why are there battle cries coming from the WindClan border?" he asked his sisters. "Are WindClan attacking?"

"Why would they attack?" Moonpaw asked. "Aren't we friendly with WindClan?" The three cats who held the fate of the clans in their paws stood there wondering what to do. _They should have run while they had a chance_, thought Fishtooth. He exchanged a smile with Clawstar, who flicked his tail. All of the cats began to move forward.

The rustling in the bushes grew louder, coming closer, and closer, and closer, until a RiverClan cat sprang out of the bushes and landed on Starpaw. Two more cats leapt out and landed on Moonpaw and Sunpaw. Sunpaw fought like a TigerClan cat, until finally, Clawstar himself stepped out and slashed a cut down Sunpaw's side. He went limp.

Moonpaw let out a screech of fury and flung herself at the RiverClan deputy, Reedheart. She was a small tabby she-cat, but she fought like a cat ten times her size. She quickly captured Moonpaw.

Starpaw was still fighting Fishtooth, but she was getting tired. Fishtooth beckoned to the six warriors waiting off to the side. Coldfang and Dustwhisker were carrying a sling woven from reeds between them. Adderscale and Mudpelt were also carrying a sling, as were Oaknose and Turtlefoot. Fishtooth flung Starpaw into one sling. Clawstar and Reedheart followed his example, flinging Sunpaw and Moonpaw into the other slings.

Three RiverClan apprentices raced back through the trees. "Clawstar, it's going just as we expected," one panted. "Most of ThunderClan is fighting WindClan. The camp is guarded by only two warriors, three queens, one apprentice, and the elders."

A jolt ran through Moonpaw's body. She recognized the apprentice who had spoken. It was Creekpaw, her friend from RiverClan. "Creekpaw," she moaned, "why are these warriors taking us? And where are we going?"

Creekpaw's eyes shone with sadness. "They are taking you, Moonpaw, because your parents made a terrible mistake. You are half-clan. You are going to a prison in RiverClan territory until your parents give themselves up. RiverClan have no quarrel with you." She leaned her head in close and whispered, "If it were up to me, I would stop this evil taking of cats. But it is not up to me. I'll try to help you later."

Moonpaw nodded, shocked. _She was half-clan? Who was her father? What clan was he in?_ As these thoughts raced through her head, she relayed what Creekpaw had said to Sunpaw and Starpaw. They, too, were shocked.

"Ivycloud lied to us?" Sunpaw asked, horrified. "I always thought that Bearclaw was our father. If he's not, who is?"

Starpaw buried her head in her paws. "I should have run! If one of us had run when we heard the rustling, we might not be here right now!"

"Up!" Clawstar commanded. The slings were lifted up. Starpaw yowled loudly, but Adderscale stuffed some leaves into her mouth. Moonpaw and Sunpaw tried to yowl too, but they were treated the same way. Then, one by one, they tried to escape, but were bound tightly with reeds.

Adderscale, Mudpelt, Oaknose, Turtlefoot, Coldfang, and Dustwhisker carried the slings through ThunderClan territory. Clawstar, Fishtooth, Reedheart, Creekpaw, and the other apprentices formed a circle around the slings as they crossed the border into ShadowClan territory. They proceeded on in silence until they crossed the RiverClan border, and then they broke into a run.

As they arrived at the camp, Fishtooth ran forward and yowled, "Success!" RiverClan cheered. "To the prison!" barked Clawstar. The slings were carried through the camp and down a tunnel. Three beds of moss lay inside the muddy chamber at the bottom of the tunnel. Moonpaw, Sunpaw, and Starpaw were each deposited into one. Then all the RiverClan cats left, leaving Moonpaw, Sunpaw, and Starpaw alone.

"What are we going to do?" asked Moonpaw. "I don't know." answered Sunpaw. "I guess we just wait for Ivycloud and our father to give themselves up." Starpaw decided. They sat in silence, wondering if they wanted that to happen to their parents.


	6. Chapter 6: Others

**I know, I know, I've been a bad author for not updating. But I have a nice long chapter for you! So read and enjoy! (Oh, and reviewing won't hurt. It might make me write longer chapters and update more often. All reviews welcome!)**

Moonpaw shifted restlessly in her nest.......if you could call it a nest. It was made of the roughest mosses and reeds that grew in RiverClan's territory. Suddenly, there was a rustling noise. Creekpaw, the apprentice who Moonpaw knew from Gatherings slipped in.

"Reedheart sent me to bring you some food," the gray apprentice mewed. "By the way, Adderscale and Cloverpaw are guarding you. I'm on break from guarding.....some other cats with Oaknose. Dustwhisker and Emberpaw are also guarding."

"There are _other _cats being held here?" Sunpaw gasped. "Well, of course!" Starpaw answered. "We aren't the only half-clan cats. There must be cats from WindClan and ShadowClan here too." All three ThunderClan cats looked accusingly at Creekpaw.

Creekpaw sighed, and it was only then that Moonpaw noticed how tired the apprentice looked. "Have you been guarding all night, Creekpaw?" She nodded. "Even longer than that, seeing as I've been guarding the ShadowClan cats, and they were captured first. Here, eat." As she said these last words, she threw three sparkling, writhing fish onto the mud floor. Sunpaw reached for one of the fish eagerly and took a huge bite.

"Ewwwwwwwww!" Sunpaw spat the mouthful of fish onto the mud floor. "This tastes like crow-food!"

Creekpaw sighed. "Eat what you can, but hurry, because Clawstar wants to talk to all of the captives."

The three ThunderClan cats gulped down what they could of the disgusting fish and followed Creekpaw out of the reeds.

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Clawstar leapt up onto a tree stump that obviously served as the RiverClan Highledge. He opened his mouth and let out a loud yowl. "Cats of RiverClan, gather round! And bring our guests." His mouth curved into a malicious grin as he said the last sentence.

Out of another reed tunnel came Grassclaw, Pebblekit, Lilykit, and Olivekit of WindClan, flanked by Dustwhisker and Emberpaw. "You've captured _kits_?!!?" Starpaw cried. "Apprentices and warriors are bad enough, but _kits_?!!?"

Sunpaw spotted Heatherleaf, Thistleleg, and Birdflight of ShadowClan. Cloverpaw and Oaknose led them out. Heatherleaf was pregnant and Birdflight was an elder. "And elders, and queens!" he cried. Starpaw looked horrified.

"What have you done?" she murmured. "Don't you know that StarClan and the other Clans will never let this stand?"

"Creekpaw, need any help with those ThunderClan cats?" A large tabby tom bounded up. "Cloverpaw is helping Oaknose, don't worry. Oaknose doesn't need much help, though — the queen can hardly stand, the elder's old and weak, and the warrior is too preoccupied with helping his Clanmate to cause us any trouble."

He paused for breath, and added, "Dustwhisker's not having any problems either- the warrior that he's got is too busy protecting the kits to do anything. But you've got three highly trained apprentices — although I think that one is a medicine cat."

Creekpaw nodded. "Thanks, Adderscale, but I think I've got them under control. Why don't you go get Iceflower?"

"What? Iceflower? But Iceflower's got kits!" Starpaw gasped in shock. "Surely you didn't leave the kits behind?" Iceflower was a queen in their clan who had recently given birth to two kits: Blossomkit and Maplekit.

"Well, the kits are half-clan too, aren't they?" Adderscale smirked. "Iceflower just couldn't learn from the mistakes of her parents. I'll help you, Creekpaw, because Turtlefoot doesn't need any help with them. Now, move it!" This last comment was addressed to Moonpaw, Sunpaw, and Starpaw.

"Gather round, cats of RiverClan! Come and hear the names of our lovely guests." Clawstar yowled. Adderscale herded the apprentices towards Clawstar. Once all the cats had gathered, with Reedheart sitting at the base of the stump, Clawstar began.

"From ThunderClan, we have Iceflower and her kits, Blossomkit and Maplekit, as well as Moonpaw, Sunpaw, and Starpaw." Adderscale shoved them forward to the base of the stump, where they joined their Clanmates.

"From WindClan, we have Grassclaw and three kits, Lilykit, Pebblekit, and Olivekit. For those of you who want to know, the kits are not Grassclaw's." RiverClan roared with laughter as Grassclaw hurried the frightened kits forward.

"And from ShadowClan, we have Heatherleaf, Thistleleg, and Birdflight." Thistleleg gently pushed Heatherleaf forward, while Birdflight trotted behind.

"Now, let me tell our captives while they are here............."

**Aha! Cliffy! If you review, I will update sooner! The more reviews I get, the sooner I will update. See you..........if you review!**

— **Cats of Golden Moons**


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